OCEAN CITY – Several events are being planned to raise funds for a local lung transplant recipient.
On April 12, Ocean City resident Emily Sachs, 35, received a life-saving lung transplant at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Now, her family is working with volunteers and the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) to raise funds that will cover some of her medical bills.
“We’re very appreciative of the community for all they’ve done so far,” Sachs’ husband, Scott Heiner, said. “I’ve even had friends from Ireland, as soon as I posted the notice on Facebook, donate. It’s been amazing.”
Sachs was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis – a genetic condition that affects vital organs – at the age of 2. And while she didn’t have many health issues growing up, Heiner said her condition worsened in 2016.
“She didn’t have many issues with it, but in her 20s she started getting more random and frequent hospitalizations,” he said.
That year, Sachs was placed in hospice. But with the help of medication, her health improved, and in the six years that followed, she was able to find a job and live a more normal life.
“She worked at TJ Maxx in Ocean City,” Heiner said. “It was a good way to get her started again because she hadn’t worked in four years.”
But after a series of medical complications in 2022, Heiner said his wife was placed on the transplant list. And in April, Sachs underwent a 13.5-hour-long double-lung transplant procedure at Johns Hopkins, where she continues to be treated.
“We were told she’d spent at least two weeks in the hospital, but every patient is a little different,” Heiner said. “We’ve just been going with it day by day.”
Heiner said Sachs’ transplant cost $1.2 million. And while Medicare will cover 80% of the bill, Sachs does not qualify for supplemental insurance. To that end, the family is expected to pay the remaining 20%.
“Just the surgery itself was $1,2 million, and 20% is about $200,000,” he said. “So they told us we would need to start fundraising. That’s why we partnered with COTA.”
COTA is a national nonprofit dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-related expenses. Despite its name, the organization works with individuals of any age with a single-gene disorder such as polycystic kidney disease, cystic fibrosis, or sickle cell disease.
In Ocean City, volunteers are raising funds for COTA in honor of Sachs.
On May 23, for example, organizers will host a dine-and-donate event at the West Ocean City Outback. From 4-10 p.m., a portion of sales will be donated to Sachs’ cause. Attendees are asked to mention Emily Sachs by name or bring a copy of distributed flyers.
Organizers will also host a fundraiser at Buxy’s Salty Dog on June 13, from 6-10 p.m., and another at Shenanigan’s – where Heiner works – on Sept. 17.
But Heiner said community members can also make donations through Sachs’ website, www.COTAforEmilysLungs.com, or by mailing contributions to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, 2501 West COTA Drive, Bloomington, Ind., 47403. Checks should be made payable to COTA, with “In Honor of Emily’s Lungs” written on the memo line.
Organizers say 100% of all funds raised through COTA assists patients with transplant-related expenses.
